Potassium

[Shellys22]

Just had blood test saying my potassium is very high now got to have another blood test any one else have this an no why

[WinterSwimmer]

Do you have nephritis (kidney inflammation)? If your kidneys are performing normally, I think high potassium is most likely to be diet related - but you would have to be consuming a lot of high potassium food.

[Shellys22 in reply to WinterSwimmer]

No av lupus sle dont eat high potassium foods so am confused

[WinterSwimmer in reply to Shellys22]

In that case I have no idea Shelly. I have SLE which has affected my kidney function significantly. I have to limit the amount of potassium in my diet to avoid having very high levels in my bloodstream. I'm sure there will be an explanation, but that was the only thing I knew about as a potential cause. I'm sorry I can't help. I'm sure someone else will be able to.

[happytulip]

An elevated potassium can indicate kidney damage. A very high potassium can put you at risk of funny rhythms in your heart so they like to get it checked out and repeated quickly.

However, if you've never had raised potassium (K) before or have never had kidney problems before then I very much suspect what may have happened is that the sample has haemolysed.

In laymans terms this means that the blood sample hasn't been handled appropriately or the blood draw was to slow in which case the sample is affected.

When I worked in A&E we'd get about 1 person a day refered in each day for a repeat urgent K sample and all was well

Obviously, I can't say for certain that this has happened in your case, I'm just saying it's an option. Especially this time of year when some people who should know better put blood samples next to radiators and then wonder why the blood in the container has turned to black pudding!

[PMRpro]

Are you on diuretics? Some of them can do it.

However, the most likely answer is as it was for Barnclown recently: the sample was taken roughly (small needle, too fast) or, even more likely, the sample was left at room temp for too long or dropped or shaken during transit, it doesn't take much!

healthunlocked.com/lupusuk/...

[Shellys22 in reply to PMRpro]

Wasnt taken to fast as they had trouble finding a vein I was a pin cushion

[PMRpro in reply to Shellys22]

That won't have helped. By fast, I meant the speed they took it out of the vein although nowadays that is improved with the techniques not pulling the blood out into a syringe but draining directly into a tube.

However - using a tourniquet for more than a short time will cause effects that contribute , so will telling the patient to pump their fist. Both things that will happen when they can't find a vein.

This discusses it - maybe your phlebotomist needs a refresher?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...